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Chapter Text

Kylo couldn’t stand the Withered King, named so for his crooked body, his inhumanly grey skin and enlarged skull. It was hard to believe that he had once been powerful enough to usurp the previous royal family. Yet, here he was, and unchallenged for the last almost three decades since his ascension.

Watching his snarled, long limbs coil up to rest on his chair, at the head of the council table, Kylo was glad that his helmet hid his disgust. Only his eyes were visible through the visor, but shadowed, and he stood far enough from the table that it would require an archer’s precise and focused gaze to notice. Of course, the thin ginger had a sharp gaze, yet it rarely focused on him. Lord Armitage Hux, previously just Armitage Rivers before Snoke commanded the previous Lord Hux to legitimise his bastard, was Master of Coin. The shrewd Lord was Snoke’s favoured advisor, though Kylo was not sure why, and unofficial Hand of the King. The actual Hand, a Lord Pryde, was constantly at odds with the younger man, something that amused the King greatly. It amused Kylo too, from time to time.

Like now, the Hand is arguing with the ginger about the costs of a tournament. It was approaching thirty years since Snoke took the throne, and thus, celebrations were in order. Hux believed it was too costly, and ill-timed, and the Hand insisted that it would be profitable for the Capital and uplift its peoples spirits. Kylo wasn’t an expert, but Hux supposedly was, so he reluctantly backed the sour faced ginger silently. Besides, Hux was of a sharper tongue and subtler barbed insults than the old man opposite him, he was funnier.

“Enough.” Snoke finally intervened. “Lord Hux, what is a suitable budget? The tournament is going ahead, but I will concede the costs where I can.”

“The prize money should be thirty thousand credits, not sixty. It is the thirtieth anniversary.” Hux replied, and Pryde made a loud, exasperated noise.

“That’s the same prize money as a standard tournament hosted for fun. This is supposed to be special!”

“It will be special. Thirty thousand credits and a night spent as the King’s guest.” Hux argued back, and then turned to Snoke himself. “Your Highness, I think if you were to host a small dinner with the winning knight and a few Lords, just a relatively small gathering, it would make the Knight feel highly honoured, and cost next to nothing.”

Pryde was silent, point to the ginger, Kylo thought.

“A private dinner with a knight?” Snoke asked, leaning forward, resting his arms on the table for support. Hux nodded, unabashed by his seeming audacity. “Very well. And the runner up?”

“Half the first place money, and nothing more.” Hux answered, he was also leaning forward slightly, but his posture remained excellent. The lean was that of an interested fellow rather than a slouch. Kylo didn’t think he’d ever seen the younger Hux slouch. “If we use local cattle, mutton and pork, we can cut costs on the traditional feast at the start of the tournament, and if we wait until late Spring, early Summer, we can use the surrounding fields for a campsite. The lodges fill quickly, and we want a large crowd, we must make accommodations. For a small fee, of course.”

“Wise.” Snoke said, but gave nothing away. Snoke then turned to Pryde. “And what do you think, Lord Hand? Do you have different counsel to give your king?”

Pryde, looking like he’d swallowed a bitter citrus, shook his head.

“The Master of Coin is the expert, Your Grace.” The concession seemed to cost the old man greatly. The grimace on his face worsened as Snoke turned to Hux again, this time voicing his approval for Hux’s plan.

“Thank you, Your Grace, I will make sure that it’s done.”

Snoke moved on, turning his Master of Ships, Admiral Griss. The harbour would be receiving many deliveries ahead of the tournament, and guests, this was the Master of Ships area of control since they were not currently at war. Griss would be allocated a number of the City’s Watch and they would help navigate the tourists and the deliveries whilst watching for any suspicious activity.

An anniversary would be a great stage for a would-be usurper or assassin to make a show after all.

It meant that Kylo, and a few of his “brothers” in the Kingsguard would be shadowing Snoke even closer than usual. Hence why he was here now, instead of outside the council room just eavesdropping. Both himself and Phasma, the only Knight who never removed their helm, was never seen without armour, and seemed to have taken a vow of silence apparently. Phasma had been in the Kingsguard since before Kylo’s arrival some six years ago, and was an intimidating presence. Their armour was the same polished steel as the rest of them, but if you asked Kylo, it was always polished to a higher standard, shining like silver, and the plume on the helmet always looked full and thick. He hated the plume personally, thought it was a silly, fanciful looking thing that equated them more to peacocks than fighters.

“-meeting is over. Make arrangements as bid, and goodnight, my loyal council.” The King spoke, his words light and almost genial, yet it was a clear dismissal. Kylo readied himself to move, and waited as the Lords and Grand Maester filed out of the room. “Kylo, my boy, come here.”

Kylo came closer obediently, falling onto one knee despite how heavy his armour was. His head bent, he waited for further instruction.

“I sense a growing rift between my Hand and my Master of Coin, don’t you?”

“Yes, your Grace.” Kylo replied truthfully.

“One or the other will inevitably betray me in order to garner the upper hand over the other, it might even be unintentional. However, unintentional or not, treason is treason.” Snoke monologued often, and Kylo knew better than to chime in unless a direct question was asked of him. Still, he wondered where, and why to him of all people, Snoke was going with this. “Who do you think it will be?”

Kylo hesitated. It was a heavy question, and he worried about his answer possibly sending someone to their death. It wasn’t that he liked Pryde or Hux, but it was… unfair. He might have shed many of the teachings his uncle had bestowed upon him, and his mother too, but some had stuck.

“I don’t know, Sire.” He finally answered, bracing himself for a scolding. Instead Snoke scoffed.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter, you will be there to cut them down regardless, and if not you, one of the others.” Snoke shifted, finally rising from his chair. His once formidable height was lessened by his ailments, but Kylo really marvelled at how, supposedly, Snoke was human again. He’d lived across the Narrow Sea, he knew of things that looked human, or human enough, but weren’t and unlike the fools here in the Seven Kingdoms, he knew the King was something else. He had to be.

“Yes, Sire… If I may?”

“Go on.” Snoke said indulgently.

“You pit them against each other… Why?” Kylo asked, wondering if he would get either an answer or a punishment.

“People do their best work in competition. I let Lord Pryde believe his job could be undermined at any moment to inspire him to stay at his best, and I let the young Lord Hux believe the position is his for the taking to keep his ambition, and drive, high.” Snoke snorted a laugh, moving towards the door. Kylo rose to follow, Phasma moving to the door first to guide the way. “And perhaps one day, I will replace Pryde, with Hux, or another star in the making.”

It made sense, and Kylo couldn’t help but feel relief that Snoke had not pressed for an actual answer. But then, why would he? What did it matter what Kylo thought to a king after all?

_____

Hux rolled his eyes at the Master of Laws, always lurking after him. Peavey was too close with Pryde, their family bound by marriage (through cousins), for Hux to feel comfortable talking to him. Yet the man insisted on consulting him for arduous things. For example, how much to charge a peasant when they were fined for disorderly behaviour, what amount should the City Watch guards be compensated for injury. Hux had already written guidelines, and sent them, yet he still found himself bothered.

“Lord Peavey, may I help you?” He asked, not breaking his stride. He wished to return to his quarters, the ones here in the Red Keep.

“If you would, Lord Hux.” Peavey replied, catching up. He was barely shorter than Hux, but had to keep a pace that was unnatural for himself to stay shoulder to shoulder. “I’d like to revisit the topic of the budget for our court. Snoke required that we hire judges for the common folk, as their problems are so many, but we have to decide how many, and what to pay them.”

“A standard wage for the staff here is five thousand credits a quarter.” Hux reminded him.

“Yes, Lord Hux, but a judge is no cleaner or cook. They must be compensated well enough that they don’t fall for bribery, some of what we call common folk are still more affluent than the others. It would be a perversion of justice.”

Peavey had a point, but Hux was reluctant to allow any more credits to go to trivial matters. The King was supposed to hold audiences for the common folk, that was his job, and the rest was Peavey’s or Pryde’s. The outsourcing was a shirking of duty to his mind. The credits were supposed to be for critical maintenance and feeding the Kingdom when the winters came and the common folk couldn’t do it themselves. The tournaments brought business, he could understand that, but he loathed the excessive expenditure on prizes, decorations, feasts for gorging on and wasting. The leftovers from the feasts could feed every orphan in the capital for at least that night. And there were many orphans in the capital.

He should know, before he was an adult and even longer before he was legitimised, Brendol never cared if he disappeared amongst the orphans for days, weeks even. He had fought hard to get away from the man who had wrenched him from his mother, a whore in the Riverlands, and then treated him worse than a slave, and fought harder still for every meal on the streets. The other children were just as vicious as the merchants trying to protect their baked goods, and the City’s Watch with their batons and heavy boots were no joke either.

“Then raise it by a thousand per quarter and punish those caught doing so with enough force that others dare not consider it.” Hux replied. “Does that sound suitable, Lord Peavey?”

“Very well. As a starting wage, perhaps.”

Hux fought very hard not to roll his eyes.

“Where are you hiring your judges?” Hux asked, curious. It wasn’t as though the few actual schools around the Kingdoms provided classes about the laws, the history of them and the consequences for breaking them. The law was the law, and the consequences were the King’s to decide.

“Oh, mostly the sons of already second son’s. Not quite true nobility, but educated and above the common folk. It will give them purpose.”

Nepotism, Hux thought dourly. Those who were related to those who would inherit great things whilst they did not often had a hunger for power, and a vindictive streak. Some might be benevolent, content with a steady wage and purpose, but others would take it too far.

“Very wise, Lord Peavey.” He said anyway. Whatever the King wanted, the King would get. At least whilst this King sat on the throne at any rate. It wasn’t that Hux didn’t see the benefit of having judges and a court such as was proposed, but he didn’t see why Snoke would be forsaking another King-ly duty. He already didn’t fight in battles (though Hux would forgive him that, in part due to his stature and in part because he found the mud of a battlefield unsuited himself), and nor did he host the banquets or tournaments, letting Pryde act in his stead, and now even the courts.

“So we agreed the starting wage is six thousand credits a quarter?”

“Indeed.” Hux said, speeding up his pace once his door was in sight. “Goodnight, Lord Peavey.”

He barely heard his dismissal repeated before he was shutting the door behind him.

This room was only his bedroom, and never let it be said he was undignified. Unlike the street rat he had been, he carefully untucked his clothes, unfastened his boots and set everything away neatly before he collapsed on the large bed. In a moment he would go and wash, before putting on his nightclothes, but for just a minute, he wanted to relieve the burden of the day and rest.

His feet weren’t sore, but his neck was stiff, shoulders carrying the ever present ache of stress. It was a tiresome job trying to juggle managing his father’s previous seat as a Lord in the Riverlands, particularly as Lady Maratelle still lived there and interfered often, and his role here in the castle. Each day was met with the same old tired faces, each more trying than the last. Even the Grand Maester, a grizzled old man named Kalonia, bothered him. The man was fine enough, but he talked at a pace that snails could race past and insisted his daughter follow everywhere. Hux hadn’t even been aware that Maesters were allowed children, but he supposed they weren’t priests or a Knight, or even one of the Night’s Watchmen. Maesters having family wouldn’t prevent them from doing their jobs.

And the Kingsguard… There was only one he could stand, and that’s because they trusted each other. They had no choice, they knew each other’s secrets and had nothing to gain from them.

The newest, and somehow most favoured, was the true nuisance. Foul tempered and brooding like a Lord’s teenaged second son who just realised they were the spare to the heir. It would be pitiful if the brute wasn’t so vexing. He’d seen him strike down many other knights or City’s Watchmen just for pissing him off, and the intimidation of serving staff, the destruction of gear and the sheer damage to his own sword whilst training… He was a costly Knight but Snoke refused to let him go.

Hux will give the Knight one thing, he’d seen the swords, the strength needed to damage such beautifully forged steel on only training dummies was monstrous. Hux had yet to see the Knight fight, or train, but he could imagine it was a sight to behold.

His cock twitched.

Never let it be said that Hux fooled himself. He was as attracted to power as the ones he disparaged for it, only, he was capable of realising the risks and acting accordingly. Even now, he dare not touch himself to the fantasy of the Knight, because fantasies quickly became very real desires, and desires became temptations which were very, very dangerous. The Knight, Kylo, was very powerful. Physically and also in terms of his position. He was head of the Kingsguard, and favoured heavily by Snoke. It gave him influence and privilege where his threatening nature could not.

With a burdened sigh, he dragged himself back out of his bed and to the wash basin set out for him. It was a quick and perfunctory clean, but a welcome one, and soon he was in fresh nightclothes and back in his bed. This time below the blankets, with one hand under his pillow where his dagger rested. He’d never needed it, and he hoped he never would, but it gave him peace knowing it was there. When he’d taken over his father as Lord Hux he had fired most of his House Guard, and replaced them with fewer men. But the men were more skilled, younger, and much more loyal. Only a handful remained in Kings Landing with him, the rest remained in his late father’s home.

He’d kept Cardinal, the youngest of his father’s guard, the one who loathed him but loved the senior Lord too much to hurt his legitimised son. But Cardinal was now wasting away looking after Lady Maratelle.

Knowing his dagger by his hand, and that his enemies were momentarily taken care of, he slipped into sleep fairly easily for a change.

Chapter Text

The gardens were immaculate even in early Spring, and Kylo would be lying if he said following the King around them was the worst duty. It might be somewhat boring to others, but he just took in the fresh air and the perfumed scent of flowers and fruits. The sun was bright but not as warm as it would appear, and he was content with that. Under his steel armour was a thick, padded leather tunic and even his trousers had leather patches sewn on. It was warm and heavy, the coolness of Spring did him many favours.

His least favourite part was how Snoke often had midday meetings with his advisors, dull and insipid individual meetings with members of the council too. This morning it was Lord Hux’s turn.

“So Lord Hux, I hear that you’re still not courting.”

Snoke loved to meddle, Kylo had found. Which was fine, it meant he learnt a lot by proxy.

“No, your Grace. I’m not interested in finding a wife.” Hux replied, his tone carefully light. The Master of Coin had a solid poker face, a porcelain mask that defied anyone to crack it.

“Please, we are a more modern society. If it’s a husband you desire, you’d be the first in the inner circle to do so.”

Lord Hux did not even blink at the insinuation of his sexuality. Merely sipped his tea.

“Marriage is a time consuming venture.” He settled on saying.

“Indeed.” Snoke, who had never married, agreed. “But heirs are necessary for any House.”

Hypocritical, Kylo thought, considering that Snoke was much older and had no heirs of his own. It was the curiosity of the court, because who would inherit the throne? Snoke could name a successor, may have done so in his will already, but it wasn’t public knowledge. Even Kylo didn’t know, and the council didn’t seem to either. Lord Hux might do the same. Kylo had heard he was a frequent supporter of the local orphanage, donating his own funds to maintain the shelter. Yet again, no one had ever seen Hux attend the orphanage, the funds just arrived via guarded courier so perhaps not.

“Yes, for the Great Houses. I believe, despite my lands and inheritance, my family can only now claim a more humble standing.” Lord Hux smiled as he replied, small and tight, not even a glint of teeth.

“Oh, I don’t believe so. You are highly valued, and your father before you. A few heirs would only shore up your standing and ensure that you’re not the last of your name.”

“I’ll consider it.” Hux bowed his head, conceding as Snoke was clearly unwilling to give up. Kylo watched him carefully as Snoke looked away, over the large pond, satisfied with Hux’s deference. Ever since the King asked him which Lord would betray him, Kylo had kept his eyes peeled and ears open. Sadly, Hux was well aware of him, and his expression didn’t even shift slightly.

“You should. Not everyone is lucky enough to become a father.” Snoke added, just one last twist. “Now, onto more official matters, our taxes. Tell me, which Lords have yet to pay this first quarter.”

“Not many, your Grace. Only a few vassal houses, and even so, our guards are enroute to collect. Should only be a matter of days.” Hux replied, sounding serene and unconcerned. “Though, I must warn, with the North’s treacherous whispers of becoming independent, we should expect to see less cooperation after the summer quarter.”

“Let them mutter. Venting their aggression stops them from acting on it.”

“Or allow them to rile themselves up.” Hux countered.

“You’re no fighter, Lord Hux, not like the Northerners or even our southern born guards. Let’s ask one, shall we?”

Kylo stiffened as both the King and Coinmaster turned to him. He hated being drawn into these conversations.

“Ser Kylo, what say you about our disgruntled Northerners?” Snoke asked, his tone not unlike an indulgent grandsire.

Hux did not look pleased. It wasn’t his face that gave it away, because that showed polite interest. No, it was something intangible.

“I believe Lord Hux might be right. It only takes a few disgruntled people to put angry words into action.” Kylo shifted, hand on the pommel of his sword. “The North are outnumbered, but not by much, and I imagine a lot of the midlands will join their cause. Their families are often tied by marriages.”

“So what do you suggest?”

“Appease them.” Kylo replied, out of his depth. “I don’t know how, but give them something they want.”

Snoke turned back to Hux.

“We could use some of the tournament profits to fix the only school we placed there. Show them that we value their children too.” Hux said. “Or help repair one of their holy buildings, either with manpower or materials.”

Snoke hummed, but it was unenthused.

“Very well.” Snoke waved at the teapot, a handservant who remained silent and out of hearing range walking over to pour more. “Perhaps, servant, you’re Northern aren’t you?”

The servant looked like a wide eyed mouse, his dark eyes wide and scared.

“No, your Grace.” The servant said with a subtle wince. “I’m from the Riverlands.”

“Oh, like our Lord Hux.” Snoke said. “Well, regardless, you’re closer to them than the southerners, and also commonfolk to boot. What would you like to see Royalty do for the Northern and working class towns?”

“Erm.” The servant looked completely petrified, his hands trembling as he set down the teapot again with a clumsy thud. Luckily it did not crack, or send hot tea cascading across the table, but it didn’t go unnoticed. Both Snoke and Hux frowned.

“Your Grace,” Hux intervened. “I don’t believe that this servant has been North of the capital since he was a child.”

“I haven’t.” The servant stammered in his rush to confirm. “My father was the stable master, he was from the Riverlands, and my mother a cook, also from the Riverlands. We came when I was six.”

“Mm.” Snoke waved him away. The sneer was subtle but certainly present as the King turned back to Hux. “Do you know any Northerners?”

“Not personally, sire.”

Snoke scoffed.

“Ser Kylo, do you?”

Kylo paused. He wasn’t raised in this Kingdom, and he rarely mingled.

“I think Ser Vonreg is Northern.” Kylo said.

“Which one is he?”

“The Knight with a silver plume and black cloak.” Kylo replied. Lord Hux shifted in his chair, his tea cup empty, and he did not gesture for a re-pour nor did he refill it himself. A statement, if Kylo had ever seen one, that Hux wanted to leave.

“Ser Kylo, escort Lord Hux back to his office.” Snoke said airily. “Thank you, Lord Hux, for the company this morning.”

“Thank you for hosting me, your Grace.” Lord Hux stood and bowed.

Kylo copied him, and walked a pace behind Hux. Once they were out of earshot from the King, Hux tsk’d and turned his head back slightly to side eye Kylo.

“Do you often get consulted like that?” Hux asked him, his voice not as guarded, a mild derision taking over his placid manners.

“Whenever needed.” Kylo answered vaguely. He was Kingsguard, he had no actual obligation to answer any other Lord, but he liked being able to toy with them. As long as he didn’t overextend his hand, he could get away with much.

“If you were to quantify, Ser?” Hux pressed, slowing until they were shoulder to shoulder. The Lord was tall, but Kylo suspected that even without his armour, he would still be almost twice as broad as him. The Lord used his garments to make his shoulders wider, Kylo had a sharper eye than most, but the belts at his waist gave him away from time to time. Pretty, he’d heard a maid refer to him as, and Kylo was unable to disagree.

“More often than some would like, less often than would be improper.”

“A riddler, I see.” Hux snorted, his amusement paper thin and brittle. “A riddler with a temper and a sword almost as long as he is tall.”

Kylo smirked beneath his helmet.

“Do you often think about how long my sword is?” He asked innocently. Hux scowled at him, his cheeks turning faintly pink. If Kylo were a Lady of the Court, he might have commented on how it brought colour to those grey-green eyes.

“You may not have to answer my questions, but you do need to be courteous, Ser. Remember that.”

“Lest your own temper sting me?” Kylo asked, keeping his tone curious rather than accusatory. After all, it was only a rumour that Hux had killed those who insulted him. In particular, an interesting rumour about the senior Lord Hux succumbing to venom, the symptoms remarkably similar to the description of a Parnasson beetle bite. Kylo had heard that being bitten by one felt like the sting of a hornet, and that it burned its way through flesh like dragon fire.

“My temper is well managed.” Hux replied. “And I’m not a bee.”

“The more apt comparison would be a wasp if you ask me.”

“Funnily enough, Ser, I didn’t.”

The rest of the walk was in silence. Hux was not wary of him, Kylo had never sensed fear from the Lord, but he wasn’t trying to draw Kylo’s ire either. At the door to Hux’s office, Kylo bid the Lord a good day, and Hux returned it. Stiffly, but Kylo expected nothing else.

_____

Darker than night, the raven swept into Hux’s window and dropped down onto his desk. The letter tied to its leg was easy to retrieve and he rewarded the bird with some berries. It cawed, and tinkered with some shiny ribbon left out.

Lord Hux

Word from across the water suggests a rebellion is coming.
Boats are being chartered, and talks of an army are being overheard. Apparently made from the common folk rather than any bought army.

No sign of the previous king’s heiress, but her brother’s sword is missing from the vaults in Mireen.

Yours
O

Interesting.

Princess Leia Organa, the adopted daughter of the previous King, and her brother had fled the country after Snoke’s usurping. Their real father had died protecting their retreat, but he had once been on Snoke’s side. Or rather, not in opposition to him.

A complicated history, but many still believed in Organa, and she had been the sweetheart of the Seven Kingdoms, her generosity for the poor and sharp mind against the politicking made her very well known, very respected, and ultimately missed. Hux was indifferent. She was clever, and he admired that, but he held no real affection for her anymore than he did Snoke. The realm was more controlled under Snoke, more callous, but Hux hated chaos more than cruelty.

Snoke’s problem, or rather the problem with him, was that he was not Hux.

If Hux had the influence the crown would give him, he could fix the realm, find balance between cruelty and order to give its people stability. There was no war currently, but there was a class disparity that meant children starved in the richest of cities like the capital, and Lords grew too fat for their armour. He had no bleeding heart, it wasn’t pity that made him feed the orphans using his own funds, it was the knowledge that those very children would be the soldiers and farmers the realm needs. Without children, there could be no next generation of adults. Without nutrition, they couldn’t grow, couldn’t learn, couldn’t become the skilled workers they needed. Plus, there was the added bonus of children going mostly unnoticed that they were useful sources of information. Those that ran errands for him usually got a sweet treat, and they were so keen on those.

Besides, it endeared him to them, and their loyalty could only be a good thing. When the poor became too hungry, they would rebel, and Hux would rather not be one of the plump lords and ladies they lynch. No, he shall keep slim and quick, leaner and faster like a fox instead of a pampered pooch.

That and being friendly with Phasma, the kingsguard that never revealed her face. In part to conceal her womanhood, but Hux could not care less about that, because they kept a shared secret. She was a fierce warrior, he’d seen her cleave a man in two with shocking ease, her sword a large, gleaming, and swift killer. There wasn’t a swordsman in the kingdom that Hux would pick over her, and she would keep him safe, he knew it. Kylo, however, would probably throw him to the wolves with a smirk.

Which begged the question of what to do with him. Hux couldn’t risk plotting for the throne with him around. If they were to ever have a serious confrontation, Hux knows very well that Kylo would win. No, the knight would have to be gone, and there was only one way to guarantee that. He would have to kill him.

How and when would be a quandary for another time.

________

Mornings in the Spring were quite pleasant, Hux decided. The balcony for his room was a good spot for him to sit, drink caff or tea, and think. The orange cat that joined him from time to time loved to stretch herself out on the balcony wall, her cream-coloured belly pointed up to the sun. He reached over and gently ruffled the fur around her neck.

“Sometimes I think being a cat must be quite nice.” He told her. “Lay in the sun, sleep for most of the day, being doted on….”

“That cat looks like you.” An unexpected voice interrupted, and he jumped, his tea spilling over the edge of his cup.

“What the fuck?” He stood up, spinning to face the intruder, Ser Kylo, and demand an explanation for this invasion.

“Oh sorry, Lord Hux. The King has requested your presence, and you didn’t answer when I knocked.” The Knight was grinning far too much for the apology to seem even slightly genuine.

“Allow me to get properly dressed, ser Kylo.” Hux said, choosing not to rise to the bait. He was dressed, but in a much more casual outfit than he would wear to see the King.

“You look fine. The King said it was important.”

Blast the damned Ser.

“Very well, lead the way.” He sighed. Kylo smirked at him, but did as bid. The ridiculous cape fluttered as he walked. His helmet was absent, a strange oversight, but Hux didn’t mind. In fact, he preferred it, it allowed him to see any changes of expression. “Do you often compare the Keep’s cats to Lords?”

Kylo chuckled. “No, but your hair and that cat’s fur are the same colour.”

“There are a lot of black and brown cats around, do they not remind you of any lords?”

“Not particularly, Lord Hux. Perhaps you are just special.”

Odd thing to say, Hux thought. Kylo was teasing him, but it wasn’t a cruel joke, nor was it vulgar. If he didn’t know better, he’d argue that Kylo was treating him like a friend even. An unusual turn of events given their often frosty exchanges in the past.

Cautious, but curious, he hummed and kept stride with Kylo, glancing aside to try and parse anything from that stupid little smile.

Chapter Text

Kylo was hastened in his plot, the news that his mother was rallying across the sea and planning to move on the capital within months perhaps was the fire under his arse so to speak. But he knew very little of the Seven Kingdoms, littler still of the politics, he needed a guide.

Someone ambitious enough to join him, and someone ruthless enough not to be scared about it.

Pryde was out, the older man was loyal even if he was cunning. Griss would follow Pryde, as would many others. The only one young enough, daring enough, to take a risk was Lord Hux. The legitimised bastard was clever, bold, and most importantly, ambitious.

The question that remained, however, was how to convince Hux to follow him? He could promise to make Hux the hand of the King, but would it be enough? And would he even be able to say it with a straight face? Lord Hux was a good choice for a Hand, if they were on good terms, if he could trust him. But if Hux helps him plot, how can he trust him not to turn on Kylo himself?

Sometimes he thinks about giving up and letting his mother run her stupid war for the crown herself.

He knocked on Lord Hux’s door, having been sent to fetch him. It was beneath him as a Kingsguard, but if it gave him the opportunity to talk to Hux, he could let it slide. There was no answer, and he frowned, opening the door without even trying to knock again. He slipped inside and past the reception area of the quarters, the four poster bed in a large alcove to the side, and he spotted Hux out on the balcony through the wide doors. Lord Hux sat, cup in hand, and leaning towards one of the castle’s numerous cats. The cat was his equal in terms of the fiery orange, and Hux seemed to be sweet as he talked to it as if it was a favoured child.

“That cat looks like you.” He interrupted, a strange awkwardness urging him to do so.

Lord Hux’s reaction was hilarious, his hand jolting even as the rest of his body remained uncannily still, tea spilling over the edges of the cup.

“What the fuck?”

How uncouth, unbecoming of a Lord, but perfectly suited for a Riverlands bastard. It tickled Kylo, but he fought to keep from laughing valiantly.

It took little cajoling, but Hux did follow him out to go and see the King.

“Ah, Lord Hux, please, join us.” Snoke gestured to a chair facing him, his desk large and imposing. The other man waiting there, Lord Calrissian, was smiling at them, and Kylo felt strangely uneasy. He knew Calrissian, kind of. The man had been good friends with his father when he was a child, but he hadn’t seen the man since he was a young boy. “Lord Calrissian has joined us from up North, that school there, the one you said I should support, he has news.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” Hux bowed before taking his seat, and Kylo fell into place at the door. “Lord Calrissian, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise.” Calrissian said warmly, his charm as sharp as ever.

“This school, you said the roof collapsed?” Snoke asked Calrissian. Kylo watched Hux’s frown grow before he wiped his face smooth.

“Indeed, Your Grace. Not long after autumn became winter, it’s far colder up North, and the rains we experienced froze. The roof is thatched, and unfortunately in some places, not very well thatched. The weight of the ice, and the weathering of the internal support beams caused it to fall in.”

“There weren’t any children in those areas?” Hux asked. Kylo noted the strain in his voice, to remain calm. It was peculiar for someone he’d seen be so unaffected by the other tragedies of the realm, of his own father’s demise even.

“No. Thankfully the collapse happened overnight.” Lord Calrissian assured him, his own concern obvious. Snoke hummed, leaning back on his chair as if it was the actual throne. “So the North have requested that a large portion of their taxes go towards the repair of the school. A lot of children rely on it.”

“Lord Hux, I do believe this is your wheelhouse. What can we afford to spend on a Northern school?”

Hux took a moment to think, his eyes never leaving Snoke, even as he addressed Calrissian.

“How much would the repair cost? Have you priced it up before coming to request funds from the Crown?”

“Local workmen have quoted seven thousand credits, at a discount to help their children.” Calrissian crossed his legs, seemingly relaxed.

“I see. Is that for the roof alone? What about the cost of damage to learning materials?” Hux asked, and Snoke frowned at him. Kylo felt a tension he hadn’t expected to arise so soon, and wondered why? Was defunding the North so important to Snoke that he would punish Hux for giving a wrong answer? Snoke had never said as much, but the North had been receiving less and less funding from the Crown, even Kylo knew that.

“We expect to replace that when our summer budget renews before the next school year.” Calrissian said. “Of course, anything additional would be greatly appreciated.”

Hux nodded.

“We can cover the cost of the roof from their taxes.” Lord Hux said, and Snoke’s eyes narrowed. “The cost of the learning materials… I will spare one thousand credits of my own money, and encourage the Northern Lords to do similar.”

“A generous man.” Calrissian said with approval. Snoke had relaxed too. “I had heard that some called you a patron of the Realm’s children.”

Hux bowed his head. “Exaggerated, I’m afraid.”

Kylo wasn’t sure about that.

“I think not.” Calrissian argued, but he was smiling broadly. “Not many have been as kind to the Kingdom’s orphans and outcast children as you.”

“They are our future.” Hux dismissed Calrissian’s praise with his bland explanation. “No more, no less.”

“For a midland Lord housed in the south to care so much about the North’s children, whatever his reasoning, is a miracle we can only be thankful for.” Lord Calrissian said warmly. “I will petition the other Lords for donations, you just focus on the rest.”

“Very well.” Snoke said, interrupting before Hux could reply. “That’s that settled. Ser Kylo, see Lord Hux out for me.”

It was a rather blunt, and discourteous dismissal, but Hux merely bowed his head, offering a more subtle nod to Calrissian before he stood to meet Kylo across the room. Kylo wasn’t thrilled to miss more of the conversation between the Withered King and a Northern Lord.

He opened the door for Hux first.

“Ser Kylo, I think the King would be fine if you just escorted me to the hallway, you don’t have to come all the way back.” Hux said when he realized Kylo was following him.

“Why did you actually donate towards the school?” It wasn’t that Kylo thought that Hux didn’t think that kids were the future, he just didn’t believe it was only that.

“Seriously?” Hux asked, mildly disgusted at his reply. “I invest in the future. Not just the children, but the pursuit of science and medicine. The North is included in that.”

“It can’t be very profitable.” Kylo pointed out.

“Hah. Profit is a vague term.” Hux scoffed. He gave Kylo a side eye, his plush bottom lip thinned as his mouth pressed into a flat line. “I earn plenty of monetary profit because of my mills in Riverrun, and I earn plenty of profit by the way of goodwill and education, even if it dips into my gold.”

“Goodwill?” Kylo pondered aloud. “What do you mean?”

“Favour.” Hux replied, annoyingly vague. They walked in silence for a short distance.

“Elaborate?” Kylo prompted impatiently.

“Favour, Ser Kylo. I earn people’s favour, my goodwill, and they extend theirs to me in return. It’s quite simple.”

Smug prick, he thought. Very snotty for an ex-Rivers bastard.

“What favour does an orphan have to give you? He’ll be a labourer, or if it’s a girl, perhaps a seamstress or bar wench.”

Hux sighed, as if the conversation was boring him, but to Kylo’s utter surprise, he stopped, turning to face him in the corridor as Kylo also came to a stop.

“How many Lords are in King’s Landing?” Hux asked, like a bored teacher himself.

“Right now? About eight.” Kylo answered. Mostly the Small Council members, plus Calrissian.

“And how many Knights?”

“Including the Kingsguard? Thirty.”

“City’s Watch?” Hux smiled, but it wasn’t a kind one.

“Five hundred.”

“And how many soldiers? Navy?” Hux asked and Kylo was becoming confused. He didn’t like being confused, he felt patronised. A dark ball of anger, ever present in his mind, began to expand in pulsing waves. Slow for now, but he knew if would grow.

“Get to the point.” He demanded, his voice rougher than just seconds ago.

“I am. How many?” Hux replied, he even dared a half step closer. As if Kylo’s rage, and he’d been told many times just how palpable his anger was, didn’t concern him.

“Two thousand. Ten total if we include the day’s walk out the city gates.”

“And what is the population of King’s Landing, the commoners I mean?”

Kylo opened his mouth to answer, to demand an explanation too, but paused.

Four hundred thousand. Give or take.

“You buy the goodwill of the people, and they outnumber us.” Kylo said, his anger replaced with… awe.

Hux smirked, stepping back again. His clever green eyes sparkled with a grim humour.

“You could cut down many men on your own, but how many before you become overwhelmed? And what of the soldiers whose families are often common? Would they join you, or them?” Hux tsk’d, shook his head. “We forget, in our little societal hierarchies, that each level to the top shrinks and shrinks, until we get to just one. The bottom tiers of the pyramid are far heavier than the top, and much more intermingled than we choose to believe.”

Kylo needed this man.

He had entertained it earlier, because of Hux’s youth and disdain of the older Lords in the council, King included, whilst also having the knowledge that Kylo needed, but this cemented it. Not only was Hux knowledgeable, well read, he was actually clever. This wasn’t memorisation of facts, this was tactical. Kylo would even describe it as ruthless, weaponized compassion perhaps.

“You're-”

He saw Hux suddenly cringe, the flame in his eyes dimming, bracing for-

“Brilliant.” He breathed.

Hux blinked, his head jerking back minutely. Surprise had softened his expression, his mouth parted slightly.

“Oh.” He said quietly. “Well…”

“I mean it.” Kylo affirmed. “You’re protecting yourself, and if you wanted, you could have an army at your feet. An untrained one maybe, but one that could outnumber the castle’s defences several times over.”

Hux looked uncomfortable, his eyes dropping away to avoid his, another step back. He watched as the Lord squared his shoulders, turning so he faced away at an angle. He could still see Kylo, but Kylo could only see his side profile now.

“I should get back to work.”

“Of course, Lord Hux. Apologies for keeping you.” Kylo decided to let Hux walk away alone. As he watched him go, he wondered how he might get Hux on his side. The Hand of the King seemed paltry now that he knew the truth, it could never satisfy him.

”Please, we are a more modern society. If it’s a husband you desire, you’d be the first in the inner circle to do so.” Snoke said to the Lord before him.

He shook the memory away.

Something better, but what?

Chapter Text

Hux was surprised to wake up, before dawn he noted, to a knock on his bed chamber’s door.

Thankful for his full pyjamas, he climbed out of bed quickly, answering it just as another set of knocking finished.

“Is it the King?” He asked, his weight leaning against the heavy wooden door, only barely open, and none of him visible in the gap. His own personal attendant, Opan, was in the smaller bedroom next to his. Opan was a light sleeper, he would be up too.

“No.”

That was Ser Kylo. With a frown, Hux stepped into the door gap, but did not open it any more.

Ser Kylo was a shocking sight. He was without his armour, instead wearing a black leather tunic over his equally dark trousers, his belt thick and still with a sword. The lack of polished metal showed that he wasn’t quite as broad as he looked in it, but he was still broad, his chest and biceps still bigger than Hux had assumed under all those plates and chainmail.

Ser Kylo was never without armour. Not even his thinner plates and chainmail for practice at the very least.

“What, Ser, could you want?” Hux asked, incredulous and annoyed. Sleep was precious, and he got very little of it, being woken up like this was not pleasant.

“A word, Lord Hux, that is all.” Kylo replied, maddeningly calm, his hand still on the pommel of his blade. A relaxed grip, but a grip no less. Hux eyed him suspiciously.

“About?”

“I know your servant is in the next room, I know he’s quick with his own weapon.” Kylo said abruptly. “Just let me in, we can talk privately.” He had dropped the handle of his sword, and had leaned in, his forearm braced on the wall, his eyes too shadowed to see clearly, but nonetheless, Hux felt the pressure of their gaze.

“Fine.” Hux sighed. “Come in.”

He walked away from the door, putting distance between himself and the knight. He sat, tentatively, on the end of his own bed. The chair by the vanity would be fine for the knight, he gestured to it, but Kylo didn’t even pretend to consider it. Instead he started walking over to Hux, and he flustered embarrassingly loud as Kylo sat next to him, on the other corner of the mattress, only the remaining width of the bed between them.

“Don’t be alarmed.” Kylo said, hushed and soft. “I just want to ask you a few questions.”

“Get on with it then. You’re already being inappropriate, you may as well have the audacity.” Hux sneered back, tired and feeling defensive. Vulnerable, he thought. Here in his pyjamas, half asleep, the Lord of Riverrun felt incredibly exposed.

“Do you think the King has long left?”

Hux frowned, feeling his own eyelashes flutter as he blinked rapidly. What kind of a question was that?

But Kylo looked wholeheartedly serious. There was no smirk, no mirth, and he was watching intently. The scrutiny was even more disconcerting to him.

“How do you mean? He’s old, but fairly mobile despite his… condition.”

“The trouble over the sea. His increasingly weak grasp of the North.” Kylo listed off dispassionately. “The fact he has a council that grows stagnant, you are the newest blood and he pits you against that old viper Pryde for entertainment, nothing more.”

Hux bristled. He was nobody’s jester, how dare the insolent knight imply as such.

“I think I don’t like how this sounds.” Hux hissed back. “You’re bordering on treason, and I won’t partake.”

“No, wait, just…” Kylo sighed, turning his torso so he was facing Hux more directly on the bed. His hand even came to rest halfway between them, resting on the bottom of the blanket. “Be honest. Is Snoke a good King?”

“He’s our King.” Hux reminded him, his voice tight. He wasn’t going to be caught out in some stupid test of loyalty. That’s why Kylo had the sword, right? If he confessed to any treasonous thought, and doubt in their King, he’d be run through on that magnificently crafted blade.

“Is he?” Kylo asked, and Hux felt his whole upper body jerk with surprise. “I come from across the Narrow Sea. There is no King.”

Hux hadn’t known that, though he had detected an accent worn smooth and faint, melded into that of any other in King’s Landing. His own accent was different from the locals, having spent most of his youth and even young adulthood in Riverrun.

“Is there a point to this, Ser Kylo?”

“I want the realm to be better.”

“Let me rephrase, why are you bringing this to me, in my room, before sunrise?” Hux asked. “And why me specifically? What are you hoping to achieve?”

Kylo stood up, and he didn’t go far, just right in front of him where he sat. With a much larger man looming over him, Hux felt all of seven years old again, the day Brendol Hux took him from his mother, the day he was taken from his bed and dragged to the castle at Riverrun, thrown at a woman who resented his existence and told to call her mother now. He had not, and Lady Maratelle Hux had struck him. Armitage Rivers, all of seven, had clutched his cheek and vowed to surpass Brendol Hux, and make him miserable as he did it.

But Kylo did not grab him, and he did not strike him.

His hand did rise, but rather than fast and strong, it was slow and gentle, coming to rest on his cheek, turning his face up with a tender touch. It made his pulse jump, as if he had been struck, and his previously cool skin started to warm.

“You want to make a better world too.” Kylo said, a whisper. “I need people like you, people who believe in the future, not the riches and the hollow glory.”

Kylo’s thumb brushed his bottom lip as he pulled his hand away. A hand he should have slapped away in all honesty. Yet he hadn’t, he’d been caught up in the almost reverent voice of the knight, and the rough calluses of that massive hand.

“What do you mean?” Hux asked. He needed it spoken plainly, even though he knew. Kylo intended to usurp the King, and take it for himself.

A King without family, without bannerman dating back generations. No loyalty in this realm except loyalty to the crown. The crown Snoke had usurped and he had no heir. All that was to be had, really, was the Kingsguard, and Kylo was their leader. A quick, quiet, killing was all Kylo had to do to usurp it for himself. The issue would come after. The Lords and Ladies of the land would vy for his favour, or to pht their own sons on the throne, causing chaos, and if a new King chose wrong, the Kingdom could be torn apart.

“I mean, I could be King.” Kylo said, his voice was hard now. “I mean I could kill the Withered King, and uproot him from his throne. The Usurper, gone.”

“You would become the usurper. Just like him, with no family or ties to this Kingdom. You have no basis to rule… You might wear the crown if you succeed, but the politics would tear you to pieces.”

Ah.

That’s why Kylo was here. Hux would be his advisor then, apparently
His compass to navigate the nobility and to provide guidance for the future.

“You would be my tie. You’re midland born, you have a long family history, and good standing.” Kylo dropped down to one knee, and Hux’s stomach dropped like a lead weight. “You could be King with me.”

_______

“Get out.” Hux said.

Kylo frowned, still down on one knee before Hux. He hadn’t expected that.

“Lord Hux, ple-”

“Get out.” Hux repeated, louder. “Get out and we will never speak of this again.”

Stricken, Kylo shook his head.

“Wait, Lord Hux, please… I’m not joking, I mean it.” Kylo pleaded. Admittedly he’d come on a little strong, dropping to one knee already, but he thought Lord Hux would appreciate the directness, the clear political advantage. “Snoke doesn’t care about what happens after his reign, he doesn’t care about the North, he has barely even begun preparing for the trouble over the sea, you would, I would. It makes sense.”

Hux shifted, his shoulders a narrow, tense line.

“Why do you care about the North?” He asked, his voice tight. There was a kind of whine, Kylo realised, when Hux was upset. A little nasally, and he filed that away for the future.

“I don’t especially care for it, but it is part of the Kingdom, and they are important to us.” Kylo couldn’t care less about the North, but he also had no desire to see it become destitute and poor which it would be if Snoke kept depriving it. “Besides, it would stop them forming a rebellion.”

“You want me to help you usurp the throne, and then marry you?” Hux asked sceptically. “To provide you with political counsel?”

“To rule with me.” Kylo corrected softly, but that part of his plan didn’t sit well with him. The marriage was to give Hux the title, to convince him to join Kylo, but he didn’t actually intend on giving him any of the power.

“And?” Hux asked. “You do know we cannot exactly get divorced, you’d never be able to have a real marriage, and neither would I.”

Kylo hadn’t anticipated that being one of Hux’s hang ups. The redhead didn’t strike him as a romantic, and he hadn’t been enthused when Snoke had lectured him in the garden about finding a spouse. Had he misread the situation?

“As a knight, I had already sworn off marriage, so getting married to you would already be the most real marriage I could get.” Kylo shrugged. “And I wouldn’t stop you pursuing love if you wanted it, you would just be unable to marry them.”

Hux scoffed.

“You misunderstand.” Hux replied. “You would want heirs, wouldn’t you? To continue your family name, to have descendents for the throne?”

“Surrogates.” Kylo shrugged. “Many women sell those services, and it's not unheard of.”

Hux’s lip curled in disgust, but he didn’t argue the point.

“You can’t just kill him. You need supporters. His death will cause chaos, Lords fighting for power, you need more than just a spouse, you need backing.” Hux looked unhappy as he spoke, but Kylo was grateful he hadn’t ordered him to leave again.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Do you have allies? People to support your claim to the throne?” Hux sighed, like an impatient teacher.

“Not as such. Would you?” Kylo asked, still kneeling. He reached forward and put one hand on the bed, right by Hux’s hip, holding the mattress. Hux shifted, his eyes flickering to Kylo’s arm and then back to his face.

“Be your ally? I think not.” Hux replied, but he faltered a little as he spoke, Kylo’s hand having intentionally bumped into his hip. “I like my head where it is.”

“So do I.” Kylo smiled at Hux, he needed this man. He could flatter if he needed to. “But I meant, would you have allies?”

“A few.” Hux admitted, distracted by Kylo’s hand not moving away from his hip. Kylo moved his thumb, rubbing soothingly, and that was apparently the final straw. The lord slapped his hand, the sound loud in the predawn darkness but the slap was not painful. “Stop that, it’s improper.”

“Lord Hux, help me make the world a better place.” Kylo implored, deciding not to acknowledge the slap, and he also didn’t remove his hand. He did stop the movement with his thumb though.

“Allies.” Hux said quietly. “I will not act without reason, and assurance.”

Good enough.

“Where do I start?” He asked.

“With the North, of course.” Hux replied. “And ideally at least one of the top three wealthiest families. Even without an all out war, usurping can be costly.”

“Do you have a preference out of the three?” He asked, his other hand curling around the back of Hux’s calf. The pyjamas he wore were soft, lightweight, but not silk like most lords might wear to bed. There were no garish dyes or patterns either, just a basic, simple grey.

“The Sloane family, in Highgarden.” Hux said after a beat, Kylo could feel the muscles of his slim calf jump a little, tensing. “Their matriarch is a clever woman, but she is strict. If you can’t convince her, you’ll fail entirely.”

“Do you know her well?” Kylo asked, kneading the tense calf without a second thought.

“Lady Rae Sloane is a frequent visitor to my home in Riverrun.” Hux revealed, shifting on the bed. Kylo thought that he might like to escape Kylo's light hold on his leg and hip, but the other man didn’t try to pull away. “Her son is married to Lady Maratelle Hux’s younger sister.”

“And why would she back me?” Kylo asked. “Does she dislike the Withered King?”

Hux shook his head.

“She has no love for him, but she held no love for this predecessor either. Lady Sloane is a pragmatist, she will do what’s best for her family and house first, the Kingdom second. To convince her, you just have to make it in her family’s best interest.”

Positions on the council perhaps, Kylo thought. Highgarden was a big exporter of fruit and grain to the capital, perhaps he could lower the taxes on said goods, or something.

“Could you convince her?” Kylo asked. “If you tried, do you think it would work?”

“She has a soft spot for me, but that wouldn’t be enough.”

Kylo frowned, his grip on Hux’s calf growing a bit tighter. A minute flinch as his fingers dug into already tense muscle reminded him to relax his grip again, and he finally let go- of both leg and hip-, shifting back so he could stand once more. Hux leaned back, to keep eye contact, but now Kylo almost wanted to follow him into that spacious bed. Hux was long, lean, and pretty, he’d have to be blind not to appreciate the way he looked.

Fake seduction, he reminded himself. Aiming for a political marriage of convenience, the snobby Lord was not his type. Even if he was, he couldn’t afford the distraction whilst they hadn’t even formed a full plan.

“I guess you won’t say it directly, but you are with me?” Kylo asked. “I’ll need to get a ring made.”

“Silver band, no gems.” Hux instructed, and Kylo smiled faintly.

“Don't you want gold and diamonds? You’re a cheap bride.”

Hux bristled, his foot bouncing harmlessly off Kylo's shin, the kick more for show than to deal damage.

“Buffoon.” He insulted Kylo, but Kylo was in a good mood, so it merely went in one ear and out the other. A little bit of teasing his husband-to-be wouldn't hurt. And if Hux genuinely helped him, he could withstand a pathetic kick and insult or two. “I’m not a bride, and when do I ever wear jewellery? I prefer something simple.”

That was a fair point. Hux always dressed well, just as a Lord should, but he never wore the embellishments others did. There were no unnecessary frills on his collars or cuffs, no gold chains around his neck or wrist, no rings or gemstones. The clothes he wore were well made, but simple enough, and always in muted colours, grey, black, whites being the most predominant, but also light green or blue sometimes.

“Fine, we’ll both have silver bands.” Kylo assured him.

“You do realise there is the archaic bedding ceremony.” Hux said, obviously uncomfortable, downright nervous even. His hands were clenched tightly in his lap, looking even smaller than he had just moments ago. Further confirmation to Kylo that his guess at the Lord using padding for his shoulders was correct.

“We can refuse.” Kylo replied, but internally, he thought he might not mind it so much. Evidently, Hux disagreed, and well, he was equally fine with not doing it.

“It wouldn’t go down well.” Hux pointed out, but he seemed relieved.

“It’s not as exciting for them when it’s two men.” Kylo shrugged. “They can’t exactly make bets afterwards on whether or not there’s a pregnancy already.”

Hux was not happy with that, he could tell, but the Lord just watched him with a sceptical half frown. Then he seemed to gather himself, starting to stand even though Kylo was still very close, practically looming above him. It forced Kylo to step back unless they wanted their chests to collide, but he didn’t go far.

“Get out of my room, Ser Kylo. Don’t return unless you’ve got an actual plan, and allies.”

Dismissal, plain as day, but Kylo refused to let the Lord boss him about. So, he lingered, he even dared to lean in closer, their breath mingling. He saw Hux’s light eyes widen, and then grow darker, and smirked.

“We’re not married yet, Lord Hux, don’t boss me about.”

Hux’s tongue made a brief appearance, wetting his bottom lip, and he swallowed. Kylo saw the Lord match his smirk, mirroring him, as Hux tilted his head slightly.

“Does that mean I can, if, and when I marry you?”

He had him there, Kylo froze. Just for a second, but this close, it was a second too long. Hux’s smirk grew, and Kylo decided to retreat.

“I’ll be back.” Kylo said, as his final word.

Chapter Text

“Are you taking the piss?” Phasma growled at him when he told her what Ser Kylo had done. “You can’t!”

“Why?” Hux asked. “Am I not suited to be a King?”

“You’d be a King Consort at best, he’s using you.” Phasma warned. “You said it yourself, he only came to you after he found out that you had been securing your reputation.”

That was true. The admiration he’d seen on Ser Kylo’s face when the knight had realised what Hux had been doing all these years had likely spurned the knight into asking him for help, but Hux had no doubt that Kylo only cared about what that could do for his goals, and not about Hux himself. He’d been thinking about it all morning, and it made sense why Kylo had opted to offer him a political marriage. Asking him to be Hand would only offer so much sway for him, and left him open to plotting his own usurping. Kylo could also capitalise on Hux’s popularity and knowledge by making him his husband more than he could as Hand of the King.

“And he has the physical strength my plans lacked.” Hux shrugged. “Snoke might be old and far from peak strength, but he’s always guarded by somebody who is at their best. I know you wouldn’t intervene, and now I know that Kylo won’t, at least as long as it benefits him.”

“You’re no swordsman.” She agreed, but she sounded disgruntled still. “But you’re more than adept with that dagger up your sleeve.”

“Which wouldn’t save me from a Kingsguard.”

Phasma was silent, her helmet kept her face concealed, but he could feel the disapproval.

“It’s foolish. He’s reckless, and his temper is lethal.” Phasma shook her head, her disapproval loud and clear. “If you take the throne and marry him, you’ll belong to him, you know that? The Kingsguard will protect you too, but not from him, they can’t.”

“He doesn’t strike me as a spousal abuser.” Hux argued, but he didn’t try too hard. He didn’t know, how could he?

“He’s not supposed to ever have a spouse.” Phasma grumbled. “The Kingsguard vow is for life, and it forbids marrying, or having heirs.”

“So he will be an oathbreaker.” He shrugged, which earned him scandalised silence. “So are you.”

Phasma growled, an honest to God rumble of rage.

“I’m sitting here conspiring against the King you are currently sworn to protect, that’s against your vows.” He reminded her, because he never backed down from Phasma. She was terrifying, but he didn’t fear her.

“I was sworn to you, before him.” She reminded him. “It was you who helped me become a knight, despite my womanhood.”

Hux nodded, that was true. He hadn’t done all that much, he’d simply misappropriated some of his father’s funds to buy her armour and a sword, a full helm to hide her face, and had her employed in his father’s guard. The route to the Kingsguard came because she impressed Snoke by saving Brendol and the Grand Maester from a would-be assassin.

An assassin who may have been told where to go by a certain bald headed servant employed by Armitage Rivers.

“I don’t see why you should get a pass while he doesn’t. What if he swore to someone else first?”

He was just being petty now, but Phasma merely fumed silently in response.

“At any rate, it’s not as though I’m going to get a better offer.” He added. “And I am constantly being reminded that I need a spouse, for whatever reason.”

“To continue your line.” Phasma replied primly. “To make alliances amongst the noble families. Kylo is not a noble family, he is an outlier from a foreign land.”

“Enough about the traditions and customs.” Hux groaned, letting his head lol backwards as if exhausted. He rarely acted so impetuously, so relaxed, but he felt able to do so with her. “It’s boring, and the only noble house that wants an alliance with mine is the Dameron’s, and they are hardly a worthy alliance. Barely Lords at all, you said so yourself.”

“I said they were new blood.” Phasma replied, but he could tell she wasn’t actually disagreeing. “And their son is a bit of a…”

“Tart? Flirt?” Hux filled in. “I am aware. We’ve met.”

“I was going to say free spirit. It’s the Dornish in him, they are rarely happy with a single spouse.”

“The King of Dorne only has one wife.” Hux pointed out. “But I suppose it is more common in Dorne to have multiple partners at once.”

“Dameron is not Dorne royalty.” Phasma reminded him. “Just offspring of a Dornish nobleman who moved here after marrying a woman from a lesser noble house.”

“The more I hear the word noble, the more it loses meaning.” Hux sighed. “Besides, I wouldn’t marry Poe Dameron so it’s useless to talk about it.”

“He’s handsome.” Phasma replied. “Intelligent.”

“Weren’t you just disparaging him?” Hux asked, mildly baffled at her quick change of tone.

She hummed.

“He’s still a better match than Kylo.”

Hux groaned.

______

Kylo really hated Snoke.

He had been stood, outside, all afternoon and evening, and only now did the King decide to move back indoors. He was hot, he was sweating, and the metal of his armour was heated and uncomfortable from the sun which was still high for an evening. The castle was equally stifling, but at least it meant he wasn’t in direct sun anymore.

All so Snoke could sleep outside in the sun, under a shade. Apparently it was good for his ‘old bones’ to quote him, the warmth easing the pain from his twisted body.

“Sire, the news from across the sea is that an army has amassed, they just lack enough boats.” The advisor was young, untested in battle, and yet, Snoke kept them around. Kylo could admit the slightly younger man was smart, wise beyond his years even, but meek and nervous. Not much in terms of a War Advisor. But it was the news he brought that interested him.

Enough boats, which meant his mother had some boats. Just how big was her army? He needed to beat her to the throne, because he knew she wouldn’t march on him, but she would compete against him if the race was still on.

Speaking of, surely her boats wouldn’t come straight to the Blackwater Bay. It would bring her closest to the castle, but they would see her coming for miles. Every soldier could be waiting for the boats, and a slaughter would happen.

No, it was best if he got his plan ready and moved forth with Hux before that could happen. It’d save countless lives, and frankly, his mother just didn’t belong here. She was better as a War General freeing the slaves in Mireen and Braavos, it suited her better.

“Alert the Master of Ships, keep watch.” Snoke said, but Kylo noticed the flippancy, the exhaustion in the undercurrent of his voice. The man was fed up, and it was that weakness that Kylo could not abide. The Kingdom could not stand with a weak King at its forefront. The full title did include “Protector of The Seven Kingdoms” for a reason.

It needed someone strong to take over, strong like himself.

___

Hux had been right about the Northern Lords being the place to find allies. Lando Calrissian was still in the Keep, not having left yet, and Kylo pulled him aside under the guise of giving advice about staying safe on the road home.

It was with him he found his first ally. Lando Calrissian had listened gravely, but attentively, and when Kylo was finished, the Lord nodded.

“I will do as you ask… If you intend to marry Lord Hux as you state.” Calrissian’s voice was low, whisper soft, and serious. “And if you promise to bring the same care the Capital receives to the North. More schools, more Maesters for our sick, more aid for our poor.”

“I will.” Kylo replied. “I do intend to marry Lord Hux, he is invaluable to the realm.”

Lord Calrissian smiled, small, barely there.

“And he has a pretty face.” He joked to Kylo. “I’m sure you’re not too put off at the concept of marrying him for his political power.”

Kylo pulled a face.

“It is a marriage of convenience.” He reminded the Lord.

That same Lord laughed in his face, but he didn’t argue and Kylo saw him off. Calrissian would go forth, speak to other Lords, his trusted bannermen in the vassal houses, and gain him his allies.

A raven would be sent to him, the key word of confirmation being “the swallowbirds”. A common bird in the North, hardier than most, and bigger, able to handle the cold better. Should Calrissian succeed, he said he would have an army of ten thousand strong ready to assist him, and able to march on the capital within three weeks if needed.

Now Kylo just had to contact Lady Rae Sloane from Highgarden. He figured the second richest family, (behind the Hutts) who had a connection to Hux in a way, would be his best bet. A raven sent, by Hux no less, had called for a meeting disguised as a catch up. He would just need to wait for her reply.

_____

Hux was about to get undressed and into his pyjamas when the knock disturbed him. It was late, the sun was down and his room was lit only by candle lamps, their light magnified by the carefully constructed glass mirrors inside the lamp box, but he thought he knew who it might be. Carefully, he opened the door slowly, just so he could peek through the gap to confirm first.

“You better be here with a plan.” He said as a greeting.

“Just let me in.”

He was without armour again, but he was clearly wearing his under armour tunic, the leather pinched and cracked in places.

“Well?” Hux said, sitting on the chair by his vanity, fully expecting Kylo to try and sit next to him again if he’d chosen the bed. Kylo did not sit on the bed, he came to stand unreasonablely close and lean against the vanity. Hux thanked himself for choosing a sturdy one, Kylo was a good weight by looking at him, just one of Kylo’s thighs was more than double the size of his.

“Calrissian is in. Have you heard from your friend?” Kylo asked, his voice a quiet rumble.

“Not yet. Highgarden will deliberate, they always do. Besides, Sloane likes making people sweat, it’s more fun for her.” Hux replied.

“Not ideal when staging a coup.” Kylo replied disapprovingly, but Hux could only shrug. He had no way of speeding things up.

“Have you thought more about the details of our marriage?” Kylo asked, quite abruptly changing the subject. So much so that Hux’s head jerked back in shock.

“I have not.” He replied, face beginning to burn. Presumptious prat, he thought. The nerve…

“I have.” Kylo replied with a frown. He even looked a little offended, aa if he hadn’t made it clear that the marriage was only for appearances sake and for what Hux’s credibility could bring to him. “That bloody Lord Calrissian seems to think you have a pretty face, he practically winked at me about it.”

His face was certainly burning more and more. Hux scowled at the knight, flustered, and opened his mouth to protest Kylo’s words.

“This is improper.” He said, wrinkling his nose. “I do not want to hear about it.”

“Not one for flattery are you?” Kylo asked, his tone flippant but his eyes sharp.

“I prefer it over the alternative.” Hux deflected quickly. “But I don’t want to hear people discuss how pretty I am. Pretty is not the nice word they think it is.”

“What is it then?”

“Pretty is a flower, or a delicate butterfly, easily squashed.” Hux replied hotly, folding his arms over his chest. Thankfully he was wearing his day clothes, he didn’t feel as small as he would in his pyjamas.

“Oh I see.” Kylo replied, ducking his head a bit, stooping, to try and get their heads as level as they could be- not very, Kylo was still standing up. “You think pretty is weak, and you’re not weak.”

“Shut up.”

“So would fierce be better for you? Perhaps beautiful. Beautiful is bolder than pretty.”

Hux stood up, and regretted it as he was pushed into Kylo’s space. Pulled by his anger, and by Kylo’s flattery. It felt mocking, even though his voice wasn’t mirthful. Worse still, Kylo’s arm wove around his waist, holding him steady as he swayed back, holding him close.

“Don’t be inappropriate.” He warned, but Kylo smirked. His eyes dipped down, focusing on Hux’s lips, and then back up.

“Perhaps there is one more benefit to this marriage of ours.” Kylo said, softly, quietly. “Waking up to a beautiful face wouldn’t be so bad.”

Hux jerked away, pushing on Kylo’s leather clad chest.

“You are confusing our agreement.” He stated, but seeing as Kylo hadn’t moved an inch with his shove, and in fact, stepped closer to make up for the distance Hux had put between them, he couldn’t escape the penetrating gaze of the other man. Kylo’s eyes, dark anyway, were nearly black, heady with a strange desire that Hux had not seen, or recognised, before.

“Am I? It was you who opposed the bedding ceremony, not me.”

“Are you suggesting that you want a more carnal side to our marriage?”

“I’m saying that you’re attractive, I’m interested, and if I’m already breaking my most sacred Kingsguard vow, why not this one too?”

“Celibacy isn’t a Kingsguard vow.” Hux frowned. Either Kylo was manipulating him with blatant lies, or the Knight was drunk. He had to be impaired with something.

“I can take no lands, marry no wife and bear no children.” Kylo reminded him, his voice lightly chiding. Hux rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, it doesn’t say you can’t have sex, you fool.” Hux grimaced. “Have you… ever?”

It was Kylo’s turn to be uncomfortable. His face was flushed, his wonky chin ducked down which did not help him hide.

“I… Have you?”

“Answer me first.” Hux pressed, and just because Kylo had made him uncomfortable the most so far, he leaned in again, their breaths mingling, his nose only a handful of inches away from touching Kylo’s.

“No.” Kylo replied sourly, his cheeks and ears burning a deep pink. “Even before I took the Kingsguard vows, I had made similar vows before.”

Interesting, but Hux didn’t get the chance to ask about that, because two very large, very warm hands came to hold his hips.

“Your turn.” Kylo reminded him.

“I had one regrettable experience.”

Concern flitted across the Knights’ features.

“What happened?”

“Nothing terrible. Neither of us particularly wanted the situation, and we stopped before it went too far, but she got paid and my father got told what he wanted to hear so he would leave me alone.”

Kylo’s jaw had dropped, his mouth hanging ever so slightly open. It stayed that way for perhaps two more full seconds, each more awkward than the last, and then it snapped shut with an audible click. His eyes were no longer heavy with lust, but leaden with rage.

“That’s fucked up.”

Hux frowned back, but Kylo’s was more of a scowl, his full lips downturned sharply at the corners. The hands on Hux’s hips were tight, but not painful.

“Lord Hux, it pains me to tell you, but that’s assault… You were assaulted.”

No.

They were not having this conversation. So Hux kissed Kylo, he leaned in, resting his hand on Kylo’s cheek, and tried to distract him with his lips, with his body pressed against Kylo’s.

Chapter Text

Kylo’s head was reeling. He had an armful of terrified Lord, who was desperately kissing him to avoid the horrible subject, and his cock was half hard anyway. A dilemma honestly, because whilst he’d love to let Hux take his virginity (and take Hux’s in return, non-consensual encounters didn’t count in his mind), he also knew full well it would be wrong. It was immoral, and beneath him as a knight and future King, and husband.

“Wait.” He said as Hux needed to draw breath, a further kiss delayed the next part; “Please, Lord Hux-”

“Armitage.”

“Armitage, stop.” Kylo’s hands slid up Hux’s back, cutting off the Lord’s escape route. “We don’t have to talk about it, but don’t use me to distract us from it.”

Hux sighed, his head tipping back so he could roll his eyes at the ceiling.

“You tried to seduce me.” Hux said, his voice hard, going cold again. It made him wince. “And now you’re chicken because you think I’m fragile enough that an eighteen year old memory still haunts me?”

An eighteen year old memory… How old was Hux then? How old exactly was he now?

“I don’t think you are fragile.” Kylo half lied. Hux was physically a lot more fragile than he was, but no more so than most others he encountered daily. Then there was the mental fortitude, and it was there that Kylo suspected Hux was his equal. “And yes… I did try to seduce you. I won’t apologise.”

“So what will you do about it?” Hux asked, peeved and trying to wriggle away. Unfortunately that just meant that his hips pushed against Kylo’s, their stomachs stuck tight to each other because of Kylo’s embrace. He gasped as his still interested cock was the victim of several drags against Hux’s groin.

“Stay still.” He groaned. “Because if you want, I’d be happy to show you.”

Hux did not stay still, he canted his hips forwards, and Kylo felt the answering bulge in the Lord’s pants, which were softer and thinner than his leather-padded under armour trousers.

“I’ll make you a deal.” Hux replied. “We never, ever, speak of tonight again, and I’ll let you do what you want.”

Transactional.

Off-putting, he realised. Making this part transactional felt wrong, like he was being bought. Or more specifically, fobbed off. Hux will fuck him, if he shuts up about it.

“You’re so difficult.” Kylo sighed. “I want to fuck you because I think you’re handsome, but you obviously don’t want that.”

Hux frowned, his fingers winding into the material of Kylo’s shirt, either side of his waist.

“I do want that.” He protested. “I just don’t want to hear what you think about my past. No one does, it’s a moodkiller.”

“For fuck’s sake. Fine.” Kylo bit out, but when Hux scowled at him, he softened. “We’re overwriting it anyway.”

Hux rolled his eyes, placed his hands on Kylo’s shoulders, and dragged him into a kiss.

____

Having Kylo on top of him on his bed wasn’t that bad, Hux thought. With their shirts off and trousers still on, it wasn’t that intimidating. He had his legs wrapped around Kylo’s waist, and Kylo’s weight (mostly held aloft by Kylo himself resting on his braced arms) was reassuringly heavy, like multiple layered blankets in winter.

However, with Kylo’s face buried against his neck, laving the sensitive skin just above where neck met shoulder with kisses and a nip that was harder than he’d liked, he felt a little awkward. All he was doing was gasping, pawing at the back of Kylo’s shoulders. He whined at another bite, pulling at Kylo’s hair to prise him off.

“Gentle, I don’t want bruises.”

“Sorry.” Kylo whispered. “You taste good, smell even better.”

Hux wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he squirmed lower under Kylo, forcing a hand between them to pull at Kylo’s waistband.

“Then it’s my turn to taste you.”

“Fuck yes.” Kylo rolled off him, shucking his trousers quickly. They got caught round his knees for a moment, but Hux was too busy taking down his own pants to care too much about the gracelessness besides him. For such an athletic man, it appeared the knight could be fumbling too. Now that he was on his back however, Hux didn’t hesitate to flip their position.

It didn’t distract him from his task for long, and when he turned to do it, he balked. Kylo’s cock was… amply proportionate. That is to say, large. Long, thick and more than a little intimidating.

“Fuck.” Hux leaned forwards, wrapping his hand around the base, thicker than his own, but mollifyingly, not as much as he might have thought upon first glance. He had nothing to be ashamed of inside his own trousers, but this was a slightly different league than he was used to.

“Just… whatever’s comfortable.” Kylo hissed as Hux took a swipe at his tip with his tongue, quick and uncertain. The taste was not as bad as he expected, especially with the pearls of precum already beading there. His second swipe was slower, more deliberate, and Kylo moaned. Emboldened, Hux didn’t hesitate as much, using one hand to hold Kylo’s hip for balance, the other starting to stroke as best as he could whilst also coordinating his tongue’s movements.

“I need… Hux, get up here.” Kylo tugged gently at his hair, and once Hux was high enough, his shoulders. “That feels fantastic, but if I fucking shoot off before getting my hands on you, I’ll feel a fool.”

“Hands on me? You’ve been touching me all- Ah! You bastard…” Hux fell forward, splaying across Kylo’s chest as Kylo wrapped his rougher hand around his shaft in kind. Kylo chuckled, and his grip adjusted to make room for how Hux had fallen.

“Lke this.” Kylo pointed out smugly. He then shimmied his hips across the bed, and Hux followed his lead, slotting their hips together so Kylo could wrap his hand around both of them. Hux groaned, and sat on Kylo’s thighs so he could also wrap his hand over Kylo’s. Like wearing underwear over trousers, he realised, when his long but slimmer hand did little to help. He pinched the skin of Kylo’s wrist, and after a brief hiss and nip to the jaw by Kylo, and he got what he wanted. Now he held them, and Kylo’s hand surrounded his.

“Stop it.” Hux moaned but he moved his hand with Kylo’s, slow because the precum from both of them had yet to spread, and yet he felt oversensitive already. Their cocks felt both firm and soft pressed together, Kylo’s skin much softer here than his hands, but his hair was wirier, curlier, whereas Hux’s own red hair was softer, more of a wave than a curl, but trimmed. He would probably encourage Kylo to do the same if they repeated the encounter, he thought. It would make oral easier for him.

It was hot, their skin burning from the heat in their cores, but as it became easier for their hands to slide, the feeling became more intense. It felt like every nerve from down below was radiating out pleasure, tickling the others on their way, making his hips and thighs twitch, and Kylo seemed to be much the same. Embarrassingly, Hux noticed his gasps were breathier than Kylo’s, higher in pitch and far less like the deep guttural growls in between groans from Kylo. Then again, that chest was huge, there was probably a lot of cavernous space to make that sound.

Speaking of, Hux had a hand free, and the perfect place for it was those ample pecs, and he squeezed. Kylo chuckled, looking a bit puzzled, but Hux used a quick stroke of his thumb on Kylo’s cock head, and the knight’s head slammed back, his eyes closed as he panted. See if he could be smug now..

“Faster.” Kylo urged, trying to bully Hux’s hand into picking up the pace with his own, and it worked. Hux had to bite off a scream as his cock began to feel oversensitive, pressed so tightly against Kylo’s, his brain whitened out, he almost fell forwards, but no… with one hand still playing with Kylo’s pec, he had the perfect way to hold himself upright as his cock pumped out his release, Kylo’s hips twitching with aborted thrusts beneath him as his own orgasm crept up on him. “Fuck, Hux!”

Hux let his arms drop, and slumped, tired and sated, which was why he didn’t protest when Kylo urged him to lie down again, on top of their mess which splayed across Kylo’s stomach and chest.

“Sleep.” Hux muttered into Kylo’s collar. “Worry later…”

Chapter Text

Sunlight woke them, gently, but Hux’s twist to roll off of Kylo sped up the process. Kylo grunted at the rapid shift of weight atop his torso.

“Where…” Kylo couldn’t even finish the question before a yawn cut him off.

“You should go.” Hux muttered. “Before the servants start running around and you get caught.”

Cold, Kylo thought, completely different to last night. His chest still felt warm from being used as a pillow.

“Don’t dwell on it.” He told Hux, meaning whatever negative thoughts were swirling around the Lord’s brain to make him act this way. “I’ll be back, we didn’t exactly discuss any plans.”

Hux scowled, but he didn’t say a word, he turned his back instead. Pretending as if he was going to sleep again. Kylo rolled his eyes, and with a grimace of disgust, began to redress. His skin felt disgusting, but he would have to wait until he returned to his own more modest quarters to wash and change into cleaner clothes. His duties didn’t resume until noon today, so he would thankfully have time to clean up, eat and rest some more.

He left as soon as he was dressed, only sharing one last lingering glance at Hux.

It was a disappointing start to the day, but the memories of the previous night sweetened things. It’s not that he thought he and Hux were going to be proper husbands, this wasn’t a love match, but at least they could relax together, and intimacy was a good indicator that trust could be built between them. If Hux started to trust him more, then Kylo might not even have to pull the rug out from under him when it came to ruling, which would probably make his life easier in the long run. Besides, Hux was attractive, and Kylo had begun to understand his personality a little better, he wasn’t so bad. They could be friendly, he decided. Plenty of married couples were that way. Not head over heels in love, but the respect was mutual, the affection at least genuine if not romantic, and they served their roles respectively.

And well, if the sex could continue, he’d be more than happy with that.

___

Stupid.

That’s what he was. Stupid. Why the hell would he sleep with the man? Addendum, why the hell would he sleep with the man before they had even succeeded? He’d let their transactional relationship become blurred, and now, before he’d even married the man, he’d cum all over the knight’s chest.

All to get out of an awkward conversation.

Hux liked to think he was no fool, that he was rational, that he knew better than to throw himself at someone. Someone who had made it clear he was only looking for a political ally and not a spouse from romance.

With an agonised exhale, he finally got out of bed. He needed to be clean, now, and he needed to get fresh clothes and then get to work.

___

Rae Sloane was not an easy woman to impress, but Hux liked to think he had done so at least once or twice. Still, sitting before her impenetrable gaze was nerve wracking to say the least.

“Now, my boy, after that fanfare at the gates, we’re in private, tell me what you want?”

Ah yes. It was his job now to try and get Kylo his ally, as the Lady of Highgarden had insisted she would only speak to him. Hux suspected she would try to talk him out of it.

“Our proposal is-”

“His.” She cut in immediately. “I understand you are implicated now, but it is his proposal. To you, and now to me. Albeit with different terms for each of us.”

“His proposal is to take over, and remove an unfit King.” Hux amended.

“Unfit?” Sloane asked, but despite the tone of her voice, she wasn’t challenging him, only asking for clarification.

“He has no plans for the future, no heirs, and is ruining the North, and likely eventually the Midlands too if he continues.” Hux replied calmly. “There are little to no funds going to our commonfolk, and certainly not the children like there used to be.”

Sloane’s dark eyes briefly softened.

“A rather personal subject for you.” She said quietly.

“Indeed. And I believe that Ser Kylo is a good fit for the image. The people want a strong king again, and well, neither Snoke or myself quite fit that image. He is the brawn so to speak, and I would be the brain, he’s said as much himself.” Hux offered a self-deprecating smile, and then refilled their teacups. He waited for her judgement or, much more likely, her demands.

“So you potentially want my funds, and you will want my support and my bannermen?” Rhetorical. “Very well, but there must be recompense.”

“I was wary of broaching the topic without agreement.” Hux nodded. “What would you require from us?”

“Well, I suppose I could settle for a generous promise.” She slyly smirked. “Do you plan to have offspring?”

“It’s in the cards, but nothing confirmed.” Hux replied. Kylo had not been especially clear on that front yet.

“Very well. I’d like my youngest son to be given a position in the Kingsguard, he is an excellent fighter. And I would like a position on the council.” She paused. “And if you were to have a child, either of you, I’d like a betrothal to one of my grandchildren.”

Fair, Hux supposed. If she made them royalty, she would only want a slice of the pie so to speak.

“All agreeable terms.” He nodded. “Shall I get Ser Kylo’s confirmation and write to you? Or will you remain in the Capital for a few days?”

“I want your word, not his. If Highgarden commits treason, it won’t be for an oathbreaker of a knight.” She fixed a steely glare his way. Not a cold one, just a hard one. “King Armitage, and out of duty to your husband to be, we will recognise King Kylo.”

Hux nodded his head, awed and humbled by her proclamation.

“You have my word.” Kylo’s thoughts be damned.

“Then Highgarden you shall have.” She smiled. “And I hope my faith will be rewarded.”

So did he.

___

Kylo was once again outside Hux’s room, but the other man wasn’t there, as he’d been sternly informed by Hux’s servant in the room next door. So he waited, hood up in case any servants passed, and waited some more.

Finally, as the city bells rang for the City Watch shift change, Hux came around the corner of the corridor and headed towards him, hesitating at least a dozen feet away.

“Kylo?” He asked, and Kylo finally thought to lower his hood. The already cautious Lord obviously wouldn’t approach a masked man.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He said as the fabric fell, he saw Hux relax, and then stiffen once more.

“Good, I have something to discuss.” Hux replied tersely, closing the distance between them. He unlocked his door with practiced speed and Kylo followed him in.

Hux quickly put distance between them again, and for once, Kylo didn’t push it. Something was off, something was making the Lord more anxious than usual, like a cat that just entered a room of sleeping dogs.

“Are you alright?” Kylo asked, not able to withstand the tension for much longer. A strange desire to comfort the Lord was stirring uncomfortably in his chest.

“None of your concern.” Hux replied callously. “Now, you better have a plan because Highgarden is on our side. With stipulations… Which I had to agree to.”

Was that all? Kylo thought it surely must be some trick, something worse hidden away, because why else would the Lord be avoiding his eyes so stubbornly?

“A seat on the council, a place in the Kingsguard for her youngest son and a betrothal of one of her grandchildren to any offspring from us, if we do, that is.”

All terms that Kylo had somewhat expected, and all reasonable, if not a bit much when put all together like that. Still, it was the throne he was after, he should expect it would cost a heavy price. Better than a price in blood though, and for that, he was thankful. If Highgarden hadn’t been amenable, it could have spelled the end to their plot. Treason was, of course, punishable by death and he liked to keep his head.

“And?” Kylo asked, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hux’s expression was almost comical, he looked shocked, then outraged, then back to shocked.

“And what?” He asked. “I agreed without your say so, I expected that to be a point of contention, but Lady Sloane expected an immediate ans-”

“Lord Hux, calm down.” Kylo interrupted, worried at how quickly that narrow chest had started to move, drawing in shallow air, breathing out heavier, he would become truly breathless before long at that rate. Hux froze, his tirade cut short and the wind taken out of his sails, Kylo watched him metaphorically deflate. “I trusted you to make the deal we needed, if you say that’s what we needed, then that’s okay.”

“Are you insane?” Hux asked, “or soft?”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Kylo asked, affronted.

“You think that Snoke would let me do that?” Hux replied, quick and snappy. “Do you think Pryde would have? My own Lord father?”

Confused, Kylo remained silent.

“Suppose you become King, will either of us just get to make decisions without the other? What say we make contradicting statements?” Hux raised his eyebrows, one hand smacking into the other in front of himself for emphasis. His green eyes were bright, worried, but shining clearly. The contrast between his pale eyes and skin, that flaming hair, it was all he could focus on until the reality of Hux’s questions hit him.

“I’m not mad that you did what was needed.” He assured Hux, trying to close some distance, but for every step closer he took, Hux took one more away. “But what you’re describing is different. I knew what Lady Sloane might ask for, and there’s very little I wasn’t prepared to give. But decisions about the Kingdom will come later, and will carry a heavier weight.”

Eventually he had Hux cornered, between the bed, dresser, and Kylo, he had nowhere else to retreat. He kept walking, watching as Hux’s hackles rose, his head lowering between his rising shoulders as if to guard his neck.

“Stop worrying.” Kylo muttered. “I’m not going to hurt you. I know I look like a brute, but I’m not like that.”

“All men are like that eventually.” Hux shot back with scorn.

“Really? Even you?” Kylo replied.

Hux sniffed, but didn’t drop even one defensive wall.

“Maybe.” He replied, unwilling to back down from his claim. Kylo sighed, and kept his hands at his sides, palm down to the ground as he walked the last few steps so they were within arms reach of each other.

“Why are you so… wound up?” He would have said nervous, but he figured that would spook Hux further. If he wanted answers, he would have to go slow.

“Do you have to be so close?” Hux retorted, his question being the answer he didn’t even realise he’d provided. Hux wasn’t scared about making decisions with Highgarden exactly, he was just nervous about Kylo full stop. He didn’t want to be seen and he didn’t mean literally. Kylo knew people like this, his Uncle had been the same way for a long time, acting cagey, avoiding interaction, it wasn’t until Kylo, then Ben, had been around seven years old that he’d started coming around more.

“Do you want me to back off?” He asked, and then stepped closer. He was testing something. “You didn’t mind so much last night?”

Hux’s jaw fell, a flicker of betrayal racing across his face, but he shuddered and suddenly his face was a mask again. His spine straightened, his chin jerked up so that instead of cowering defensively, he stood straight and open.

“Don’t be crass, Ser Kylo. I’ve done as you wanted and got you your allies, now do something about it.”

He would.

Chapter Text

Shame.

That’s what Hux felt when he woke up, his thighs sticky with seed expelled in his sleep. Disgusting, as if he was a teen boy all over again. Except, his teen self had never dared, never comfortable enough to succumb to the dreams that were apparently so common amongst other lads. He had the start of the dreams for sure, but they would devolve quickly into nightmares long before his youthful self could make a mess of his underwear or sheets.

Now look at him.

Hot and bothered for a man he hadn’t even liked. It was loathsome. He didn’t allow himself to wallow though, he stripped and cleaned and changed. His self first, but his bed second. He left the laundry in a neat bundle for the maids once he’d swiped over the sheets with a cloth, and then left his rooms. Breakfast, and then work, just a normal day with nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing at all.

___

Another council meeting.

It was tedious repetition, and Hux envied that Snoke had the opportunity to decline attendance. He wished he could have. Pryde was leading in his absence, and so Hux did his best to remain quiet and just let time slide by. Oddly, Kylo had taken the place of the head of the Kingsguard at the table, instead of guarding the king. He had every right to do so, but he also had every right to decline. Perhaps he was here to prove he held interest in politics, and hopefully, understand it too.

“Master of Coin, tax reports please.” Pryde’s ‘please’ may as well have been absent. His tone was abrupt and his smile unpleasant, and the omission of his name was rather rude.

“Same as yesterday, Lord Pryde. No new reports as of yet.” Hux replied cordially all the same.

“I thought we still had two outstanding families.”

“We do.” Hux confirmed. “We are still waiting for our collectors to return to mark it as complete.”

“And you’ve had no raven from them?” Pryde asked, making Hux frown. Why would he receive a raven from a travelling group of guards? They didn’t take the birds with them.

“No.”

“Mmm.” Pryde replied, his dubious tone infuriating. “Not good news.”

“The journey to the North is long.” Kylo said abruptly. “And the guards must be cautious, I’m sure Lord Hux will receive news in due course.”

Hux was equally as flabbergasted as Pryde, both of their heads swivelling to the knight. Kylo looked unaffected, his helmet resting on the table, his posture far more relaxed than any Lord present. Hux didn’t approve of his sprawl, but when he saw Pryde’s face tighten with disdain, he almost reconsidered.

“And you would be an expert on the journey?” Pryde asked, his tone curt but far less outrightly patronising. Hux suspected it was the sword that Kylo carried that prevented that.

“I’ve made the journey a few times.” Kylo said, his tone agreeable. “There are a lot of bandits between here and there, desperate men with no lands and no food, but children and wives to keep fed.”

Hux sat up straighter, there was rebuke in those words. A subtle, but scathing, criticism of the Lords around the table. Those who have so much scorned those who had so little.

“Be that as it may, they are the Royal guards. Standing in their way is treason.” Pryde replied, once again curt, but also rather snippily.

“If treason is what keeps their children from starving, they won’t think twice.” Kylo replied. “Is that not the purpose of mine and my brother’s role in the Kingsguard? To protect the King, and his Lords, from harm when the commonfolk get too rowdy? Too hungry?”

Hux had appreciated Kylo’s interruption, but the Knight was bordering on giving himself away. He couldn’t get Kylo’s attention without attracting everyone else’s too so he decided to do that. He cleared his throat, loudly.

“If there is nothing by the end of the week, I will send more guards to investigate. They will travel all known roads, and if our guard isn’t found, they will visit the Northern lords for answers.” Hux cut in.

Pryde seethed, but as the other Lords shifted and the uncomfortable air grew thicker, he backed down. Conceding with only a nod and a rapid change of subject, Pryde moved on. Perhaps he’d pay for this small victory in one petty way or another, but all he could focus on for the moment is Kylo’s smug smile as the Knight realised his intervention had worked. The knight met his gaze, a quick, barely noticeable but knowing wink was sent his way, and Hux felt his cheeks burn, but so did a place much lower down, much more intimate.

It felt good to be defended.

___

Hux expected Kylo’s visit even though it hadn’t been discussed.

After how their last interaction in his room had ended, he was nervous, but the memory of the Council meeting soothed some of it away. Kylo clearly felt no insult from his behaviour last time if he had come to his defense.

In fact, once Hux let Kylo in, the knight tried to pull Hux into his chest.

Hux resisted, but only really a token effort.

“We have more allies, ravens came in today.” Kylo revealed once he had Hux pressed against him. “All we need is a time and place to do it.”

Hux shuddered, letting his fingers tangle into Kylo’s dark tunic. Meeting his eyes from such a short distance was still strangely difficult, but he leaned in to press their foreheads together anyway.

“After the tournament, let him have his anniversary, where every man, including ours, has an excuse to be in the Capital. We need our army close, and we need a good reason for it that isn’t suspicious. The Northern bannerman can come, pose as tourists, the Highgarden men will mostly all be here anyway, esteemed guests given what the Sloane’s provide for the Kingdom.” Hux licked his lips when he finished talking. Kylo mirrored the action before he started to speak.

“Sounds perfect.” He agreed easily. “This is why I need you… Brains. The council is stupid to discard you the way they keep trying to.”

“Why did you step in? Pryde won’t like that.” Hux asked, shifting one hand to curl around Kylo’s hard bicep. Large hands smoothed along his back, one stopping at the small of it, the other between his shoulder blades.

“He won’t be around much longer, who cares?” Kylo scoffed, and Hux shuddered again. Good. He hated that old man, he was a wasp, stinging for the sake of it.

“We’re too close.” Hux said, an abrupt but immediate sense of propriety dropping in far too late. He went to stand back, but Kylo’s wide hands kept him in place. “This is improper.”

“We’re engaged.” Kylo murmured softly, “and we already took the tumble between the sheets. This is just an embrace… I’d argue that fiance’s should hug, promotes closeness… Trust… Intimacy.”

“You’re incorrigible.” Hux replied, but he wasn’t upset. “You also helped me today… I suppose we do make a good team.”

“You could eat that old man for breakfast,” Kylo chuckled. “I’ve seen you do it, but I thought it might be nice to have some back up for once.”

Hux’s eyes closed, a strange relief easing the remaining tension in his body. Support wasn’t something he was used to, usually he had to claw his way in with a bloody, exhausting effort and a gritty determination to ignore those who scoffed at him.

Lips touched his own, just a gentle press, and instead of tensing at the unseen approach, he just let Kylo take his time, and leaned where he was pressed, giving less than he took, but Kylo seemed to prefer that. It made sense, Kylo was a knight, and a hunter, he loved the chase, whereas Hux liked to relax with his hard won luxuries. The chase was only fun for a while, but Hux much preferred to have won already.

Then Kylo’s hand curled around his throat, thumb pressing under his jaw, and he yanked away, slapping at that hand. The knight looked bereft, shocked, clutching his struck hand, not due to pain, just sheer surprise.

“What?” Kylo asked, glancing between his hand and Hux. “Shit, what did I do?”

“I don’t like that.” Hux said, steeling his voice before it could waver. “Don’t wrap your hand around my throat like that.”

“I’m sorry.” Kylo said instantly, “I won’t. I didn’t know… I wasn’t going to squeeze, I was just going to tip your head back…”

Hux sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Let’s… Try that again, but no throat grabbing.”

Chapter Text

Hux was hard work, but Kylo was starting to find that he didn’t mind. Not when Hux was sitting atop his thighs, both of them upright on the bed, their cocks sliding together, slickened with an oil that Hux swore was for soothing calluses. He had his hands supporting Hux’s small but perfectly round ass, hoisting him up with every one of his own upward thrusts. What he really wanted was to slide his fingers into the tempting hole between those pert cheeks and get Hux ready to take him properly, but after one misstep already he didn’t want to risk upsetting him again. Kneeling on the bed and keeping someone sitting atop of you was difficult, but he liked it, he liked Hux’s weight on his thighs, he liked having to strain to keep his balance and please them both, it was the good kind of challenge.

Of course, because he was difficult, Hux pushed him back, making him bend awkwardly and have to stop to rearrange his legs under him so he could lie down. Hux followed him down, draped across him so their sweat damp bodies were together chest to thigh.

“What’d you do that for?” He asked with a huff, but Hux shrugged and tipped his chin, angling for a kiss which he was happy to give. It was unhurried, a different feeling to usual, and he knew Hux felt it too. It seemed like the other man was trying to crawl into his skin he pressed so close, his arms looping around Kylo’s neck, hands buried in his hair.

“I want you to- Stop pinching.” Hux couldn’t keep a straight face though, and he felt Hux’s hardness against his hip. “Fuck, I bought oil, I want you to use it.”

“Oh? Oh.”

He wanted that too.

“You sure?” He asked. “Where is it?”

Hux rose to hands and knees above him, crawling in a strange shuffle to lean up and over to the bed side table, his hand fishing a bottle from behind a candle stand and bringing it over. He made himself comfortable, sitting his pretty ass right over Kylo’s swollen cock, and presented it to him.

“You need to start slow.” Hux said, rolling his hips, making Kylo cuss and latch onto his hips to stop him moving. “Because I can’t just have you trying to make me take it all in one go.”

“I’m inexperienced, not stupid.” Kylo retorted, but at Hux’s arched brow and expectant look, he gentled his tone. “I’ll be careful.”

“I’m going to get on my knees, it’s supposed to be easier.” Hux said, and Kylo moaned at the image in his head, readily agreeing. They shuffled about, Kylo getting up to kneel on the foot of the bed whilst Hux positioned himself on his hands and knees in the center. “Stop staring and move.”

“You’re so bossy.” Kylo muttered, but he was grinning, pulling the bottle cork loose. He appreciated it was attached with a string because he didn’t even try to hold it, pouring oil onto his fingers, not caring about the excess dribbling into his palm or onto the bedding. “Okay, are you sure?”

“Get on with it- oh!”

Kylo didn’t rush it, but pouring some oil onto Hux had shut him up quite effectively.

“Is it edible?” He asked, corking the bottle. He might need more so he didn’t want it to spill.

“Assumedly. Why?”

“Just wondering.” He said, and lightly pressed his thumb to Hux’s delicate skin, pushing the oil to where he needed it. It elicited a muffled grunt from Hux, who sank onto his elbows, his back arching in a lewd stretch that made Kylo want to bite him it was so delicious. He didn’t, because he thought Hux might not like it, but he did push harder with his thumb, using his other hand to hold Hux’s upper thigh, using his other thumb to gently knead the supple skin.

“Come on.” Hux pushed back into his grip impatiently. “Do something, it’s not… I don’t like just waiting for you to do something.”

Alright then.

He switched tactics, using his index finger to slowly but steadily push into Hux, his finger was soaked in oil so the slide was easy, and he knew he couldn’t wait to feel the same thing on his cock. Said appendage twitched in excitement at the thought, and he echoed Hux’s quiet moan.

“You’re so tight.” He muttered. “Gotta loosen you up for me.”

“Hnggh, hurry up then.”

A second finger on the next glide, and Hux twitched, his body shuddering at the intrusion, a startled whimper letting Kylo know he needed to slow down, just a bit. He kept the depth shallow, just twisting his fingers in and out, his second hand going for the oil bottle again. Hux might be impatient, but his body was not on the same wavelength as his mind.

“Relax.” Kylo soothed. “Just focus on my other hand.”

He poured more oil over Hux’s hole and his fingers before corking it again. He dropped it next to Hux’s knee and reached beneath Hux to grasp his cock, a loose grip to tease him, give him something else to pay attention to without, hopefully anyway, ending things too soon. The velvety skin was warm, soft, and he found himself getting lost on the feeling of just touching Hux.

How could he ever have thought of betraying this? Of delegating Hux to a powerless position in name only? No… He couldn’t do that, not when it would ruin this. He wanted this.

“Kylo…” Hux rocked back again, a hint of warning seeping into his tone.

“Okay, okay.” He huffed, withdrawing his fingers. He felt like he should have more time, but whatever Hux wanted. He poured the oil into his hand and coated his dick liberally before ditching the bottle yet again. “Hold still, and don’t tense up, you’ll crush me.”

He moved.

“What did I just say?” He groaned, and not for entirely pleasant reasons. He pulled his hips back. “What are you doing to me…”

“Stop complaining, have you had something that size up your arse? No? I thought not.” Hux chastised back, and well, he had to concede the point.

“Alright, alright, just… breathe, and let me in.”

It took a few shallow thrusts, gradually getting deeper, and a lot of petting Hux’s sides and spoken praise, but he eventually was able to bottom out, and he draped himself over Hux’s beautifully arched back to press a kiss on the nape of his neck, rasping over the spot with his teeth after.

“You’re going to crush me.” Hux complained, but he was stuck between Kylo and the bed, speared on his cock and the very thought of it was enough to make him moan out loud. “Kylo!”

“Shut up, you’re ruining the moment.” Kylo huffed, but he stopped leaning on Hux, straightening up and bracing himself properly on his knees, hands now on Hux’s hips. “...If you need to stop-”

“I’ll fucking tell you, move.”

He used his grip on Hux’s hips to push and pull Hux into his thrusts, forcing a delightfully breathy noise out of the other man which gradually grew noisier and noiser. Snapping his hips against Hux’s ass produced a more lewd sound than any one their mouths could produce, but he let his own appreciation come vocally too. Half bitten off sentences of praise, uttered curses, and he thinks he even called Hux the prettiest man he’d ever seen at one point.

Hux has practically collapsed onto the mattress, his face turned to the side, one arm splayed out in front of him, hand fisted in the sheets, the other quite obviously reaching between his legs for his cock. Kylo wanted to do it, but he didn’t want to lose the leverage holding such narrow hips gave him either.

“Ah!” Hux’s back rippled, an undulating twitch, his hips jerking in Kylo’s grip. “Oh my god, cum, you beast.”

An orgasm, Kylo thought diatantly, he’d fucked Hux so good he came into his own hand whilst Kylo was manhandling him. A sudden heat and flare in his own groin struck him, not quite by surprise, and he once again hunched over Hux’s back, catching himself with a hand by Hux’s head, stopping his weight just dropping into him.

“That was… You’re amazing.” Kylo panted as he spoke, following Hux down onto the bed, dragging the other man into his body so they could stay intimately connected, just for a minute more as he came down from his high.

“Mm.” Hux grunted, leaning back on him. Their sweat sheened skin was mildly slippery, but Kylo drew Hux into a proper embrace anyway. “Stay here… Sleep.”

Now that he could gladly do.